1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to handrails used in buildings, such as residential homes, and, more particularly, is concerned with a mounting bracket assembly for removably mounting a handrail to a building wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Handrails are used extensively on public and private stairway and hallway walls for convenience and safety. Most handrails are constructed from wood as elongated members shaped for a comfortable hand grip. The handrail is typically flattened on the bottom to provide a surface for attachment of the handrail to the wall by some form of mounting hardware.
One conventional set of mounting hardware includes a mounting strap, a one-piece wall mounting bracket and a plurality of screws. The mounting strap is attached, by using a pair of screws, to the flattened bottom of the handrail. The wall mounting bracket at one end interfits and connects with the mounting strap so as to be held by the mounting strap at the required angle for vertical mounting on the wall or other vertical surface. The wall mounting bracket is attached at an opposite end to the vertical wall surface using three wall attachment screws in a triangular arrangement. Two or more sets of mounting hardware are used on each handrail with each set being located to permit the three wall attachment screws to anchor into the wall framework.
When painting of the wall is to take place, the preferred practice is to remove the three wall attachment screws from each wall mounting bracket in order to remove the wall mounting bracket with the handrail from the wall to permit floor to ceiling roller or brush painting. The handrail is then acessible on all sides to be refinished also. A problem with this practice is that complete handrail and mounting hardware removal and reinstallation causes crushing of the wall material under the wall mounting bracket and necessitates screw hole repair after multiple removals.
A less desirable practice is to paint the wall as close as possible to the handrail and mounting hardware with the roller or brush, then attempt to paint the remaining wall and wall side of the handrail through the approximate two inch spacing between them. A problem with this practice is that non-removal of the handrail and mounting hardware prevents or restricts the painting of the handrail and wall surfaces.
Either practice requires twenty to thirty minutes of the painter's time and thus added labor cost of about one-half the hourly labor rate per each handrail at the work site. Wall repair of damage caused by repeated bracket removals is an additional cost. Consequently, a need still exists for an improved handrail wall mounting bracket design which will overcome the problems of the prior practices associated with the one conventional hardware design described above without introducing a new set of problems in their place.